Alan's class

Just MJ and myself.

Alan started with a modified tai no henko (katadori grab, place arm on top of the uke, sweep while entering, tenkan). I started out trying to muscle the sweep, and that worked with MJ, but not with Alan. The more relaxed and dead my arm was, the more effective it was.

The rest of the class was all about katadori techniques. Suwari waza ikkyo and nikyo, tachi waza ikkyo/nikyo/sankyo and kokyo ho (the kokyo ho had an irimi entry, not a tenkan). The katadori nikyo technique was classic Chiba Sensei and not the way that Jaime was training us on Sundays. The omote version, you cradle the elbow in the back hand and hold the hand in the forward hand, bend at the waist. Much simpler and very effective. Sankyo is also more effective from katadori- you have more leverage when holding the hand to your shoulder as compared to in front of your body.

Working on my rolls- trying to keep my arm curved. It's better, but I'm still collapsing. Working on my back falls- trying to go over like a wave and let go.

15 and 16- Tuesday

General class with Miguel
Practiced with Deena, new Chris, and Dominck

The first half of the class was all about ukemi and conditioning. Then we practiced shomen uchi suwari waza ikkyo (omote and ura) and nikkyo (omote and ura). Really need ot work on my ukemi and on my nikkyo.

Weapons class with Deena
Only person

Deena gave me the option of working with the bokken. We moved very slowly and just did some suburi at first. Then she started to show me some iaido techniques. The first was drawing and slashing stright forward, then to the left, and then straight behind. At the end of class, she invited me to start practicing iaido. I'm not totally sure, but I think it would help a lot to develop my focus, control, and lower body development.

14- Saturday

Instructed by: Leslie

practiced with : Misa, Alan, Jamie, Masato, Cindy, and Deena

We started the practice with some conditioning exercises: playing the teeter-totter on the entry to suwari waza ikkyo (omote and then ura). Then we practiced it all the way through and then took it up to tachi waza. Then we practiced irimi nage and kokyuho. Leslie showed me on a couple of occasions how I could put my center of gravity beneath that of the uke (while practicing with Masato, who now almost always makes me work). She also showed me how to use my body and not my arms when executing both irimi nage and kokyuho. It makes a real difference when I manage to drop my center like that.

I'm still so stiff, but I can feel a new confidence in my practice. Thursday night I dove over two kneeling people into a forward roll. I landed all wrong and hurt the next day, but the point is that I did it.

11, 12, 13- Thursday

11- Gary Payne's morning class
-practiced with Chad

everything started with the "open the door and extend" technique; lots of conditioning, too;

12- Deena teaching for Elizabeth
-practiced with Jamie, MJ, and Donna

Practiced ryote dori entry- irimi nage, kokyu nage, shiho nage, tenshi nage, and junji nage

Both Deena and Jamie were really getting on me for being tense. Jamie counseled me to tighten my center all day every day until I get it; I don't have it yet. He says that my ukemi is improving faster than my relaxation. The result is likely to be that I will thrown around faster than I can handle if I am stiff. Also, if I resist, then that makes the nage employ more force. I'm bound to get hurt.

One good session as uke for Deena. She really knocked me around and loosened me up. I was wheezing by the end of it. I know I wasn't a model uke, but I feel like I learned a lot form the experience.

After class, I told Jamie that I have practicing with my center ever since he got on me about it a couple of months ago. I told him that I knew that I wasn't doing it and that it doesn't count until I do, but I wanted him to know that I wasn't shrugging his advice off. I take it very seriously. I probably came off as being whiny. I need to come up with a better way to put it. I just wanted him to know that I respect his input and want to do it, that I am making an effort. I know I won't get a gold star for effort, just achievement, but I don't want him to think that I'm blowing him off.

It really hurts to disappoint someone who is mentoring you. It is no wonder that I never sought out close teacher relationships before. There's a lot of pressure involved that scares me. But really, I need to learn some time.

13- Deena's class
practiced with Zoe, Miguel, I.W., Gustavo, Alan

Practiced in tachi waza and hanmi hondachi- sumiotoshi (?) entry; lots of conditioning, too, for the beginners- built core strength and practiced rolls; good class.

Was really happy when the day was done. I was tired and elated at all the experience I had just gained: it was what used to be a week's worth of classes in one day!

I hurt today, of course.

9 & 10- Tuesday

9- We arrived late to Miguel's class, but Sensei told us to bow in.

Practiced with the two kids (Zoe and the boy), Gustavo, the Navy guy, Eddy, and Deena.

Miguel had everyone working on entries because most of the beginners still collapse too much to do complete technique. Good practice to work with real beginners. Have to work on form and control. My left knee is bothering me.

10- Deena sensei taught weapons, bokken

Practiced with Lori

Pushed each other back and forth across the floor. Not as connected as I was last week with Miguel. I had a headache and was tired. Lori had a migraine and a pinched nerve. Made some progress with receiving into my center and keeping my cool and my focus even though I was tired. Need to ask someone for a refresher on the eight step saburi. Cannot do it. Certainly can't do it in suwari waza. Way to tense in my shoulders. Need to drop all the way into my lower back and let that go.

7 & 8- Saturday

7- Deena's class:

big class- the opening was aihanmi shomen uchi. Started with ikyo, but quickly changed to an opening that you use for sumi otoshi. However, it turns out that you can turn this opening into all sorts of wicked thigns. Which we did. I'm terrible at the hand placement and footwork of the opening.

Big issue: need to concentrate much more on the footwork. That's the foundation of everything, anyway. If you do the footwork correctly, then the handwork follows.

I asked Misa to practice sankyo with me. I'm still not good at that, but I'm starting to get a little of it. Thinking about testing, of course. I also asked Cindy to work with me after class to get the entry down. I become very confused with complicated handwork. I have the worst propioception. It is probably my worst sense.

8- Weapons class: taught by Deena

also a big class. I practiced with Musato. We practiced all of sansho #1, part 1, and well into part 2. I need to go back over the jyo basics I have learned so far. They're fading already. Also, I need to do a much better job of raising both my jyo and my bokken to above my forehead. I have this horrible habit of raising them above a shoulder and swinging from there. Not only stupid, but will eventually get my ass kicked.

Need to breathe. Need to calm down. Even when I don't get scared, I get excited. Need to tighten my center. Alan told me to slap louder. Sensei told me to relax and learn where my jyo is.

I also could feel that I need to round myself even more and to extend further. Also, my posture needs to become my full time job. So does lowering my shoulders.

Thursday- Deena, beginners

All of the techniques began in gyakuhanmi katate dori. We did nikyo (omote and ura), junji nage, shiho nage, and a couple of others. I was, in some ways, the most senior person in the class (not in all). I now completely realize why it is that advanced students get hurt practicing with beginners. I was patient with them, though. I actually enjoyed it, because I had to figure out how to move with people who didn't want to move with me. The only frustration was this weird old guy who didn't want to take ukemi. I finally started forcing him a little and that worked. Lots of patience. It felt good.

Wednesday- TV star

Taught by:Miguel

Miguel set up something with a local Spanish language TV station to come and do a feature on the dojo. He taught a long class and we had a good mix of people attend. Most of the techniques were things I hadn't learned yet, but all the entries involved staving off a shomen unchi or yokumen uchi attack. I had some good exchanges with Steve Garber.

Tuesday- weapons

Teaching:Miguel

Practiced with: new Chris

We used a bokken and practiced a lot of saburi. Some of the cuts where done with the opposite foot and were ones that I had never done before. We then practiced keeping a connection with each other's blades and pushing each other back and forth across the mat. It was exhausting. But I really worked to lower my shoulders and engage my center and it started to work. There were a few exchanges where I could really feel how Miguel was moving his sword from my center and all the way into my back foot. It was a spooky, integrated feeling. Very alien, and intimate, but good. Between this and some advances I have made in yoga, I felt that this was a very good day.

Saturday

Leslie's class:

practiced with : Cindy, Jamie, Matsuo, Deena,

suwari waza shomen uchi ikyo (omoto and ura)
tachi waza ai hanmi shomen uchi
tachi waza ai hanmi shomen uchi ikyo (omote and ura)
suwari waza kokyu ho

During suwari waza kokyu ho, Jamie told me to go where he wasn't. If I felt strength or presence I was NOT to go there. I found that if I move slowly, relax, and try to find a way to move that requires little effort that I am likely to do it correctly. The problem, of course, remains the paradox between trying with all my might and acting with as little effort as possible. This was especially important because Jamie and Matsuo were tag teaming me and they have completely different ways of doing kokyu nage.

Deena's weapons class:

practiced with : Cindy and Paul

bokken- practiced cuts and extension; need to relax my entire upper body; Deena said that you should think of water or rubber; all strength and power should come from the lower body and really should emanate from where the lower body comes together (i.e. the hara). practiced makiotoshi (I think), horse stance, a weird side cutting exercise that no one knew how to do; then Deena got pissed at us for being stiff and having crap ukemi and so she made us do leg conditioning exercise (saburi, duckwalking, bunny hops, lunge and cuts).

Leslie's class

In class: Lori and Alan

Did a weird gyakuhanmi ryotedori sequence: evade to the side in a sweeping circle: then ikyo (omote and ura), or blend into juji nage (one variation was with a tenkan), and lastly, evade to the side with the circling motion and continue into a kokyu ho.

Then zazen.

keeping track of aikido classes again

I know that my practice would improve more quickly if I started recording my classes and what I learn in them again. The techniques are just as important as the life lessons (the techniques are the life lessons). I might as well bring my talent for book learning to bear since it's the only thing I have going for me in this practice that privileges everything but.

And, of course, I have gotten to a point where I have plenty of things to work on, even when I can't get to class. For example, I have been too sick this week to train, but I have still been focusing on tightening my center whenever I can remember to do so. This serves two purposes: 1.) it improves my posture and 2.) it takes a load off my shoulders, which allows me to relax. I expend a lot of energy now to make this a habit, but as my core muscles strengthen, I can tell that the sum total of energy expended is less. I waste a lot of energy by slouching and by being tense. It's just hard at first to believe the truth of those facts.

Also, I have been thinking a lot about an exchange I had with Jamie the Saturday before last:

J: You need to tighten your center as soon as you step on the mat.
K: I try to remember, but then I get excited and forget. I have been practicing doing it when I run-
J: That's great, but I need you to practice doing that when you do aikido.

I shut up right then. I had been getting to a point about how I have been training myself, but really, no matter what I had to say, Jamie was more right than I was. I needed to do this when I practiced aikido. And if I know this, and yet I'm not doing it, what the fuck? Period. So I know something I need to work on the second I bow in when I go to class on Friday.